Windows Phone Files app finally released

Microsoft has released the much-anticipated Files app for Windows Phone, bringing easier file management to the smartphone platform. One of the top lingering requests from Windows Phone users, the app is a free download and includes support for local storage as well as microSD cards, if the device you're using it on has expandable memory.

Functionally, it's pretty much what you'd expect from a file manager app. You can browse through the various files stored on your handset, as well as search for specific files, and then open them in the related app.

There's also support for sharing one or more files directly from the app, as well as creating folders for better organization, and then copying/moving them around, or deleting them altogether.

Microsoft has been progressively filling in some of the gaps that have given Windows Phone users headaches, with the most recent update to v8.1 bringing perhaps the largest set of tweaks and changes to-date. As we found in our preview, those improvements range from the macro, like virtual assistant Cortana, to the micro, like being able to set wallpapers for the Metro-style homescreen.

You'll need to be running Windows Phone 8.1 in order to install Files.